Ten years later.
Inside the lunar cave codenamed H009, a group of young scientists was studying the latest data and verifying it with Blue Star.
There were already twelve such cave space stations like this one, located in different places.
They had their own self-contained ecosystem, and the temperature inside the caves was remarkably constant.
Building bases here saved a lot of trouble.
Meanwhile,
in a separate room,
Cao Delin was on a video call with Blue Star.
Cao Delin was the fifth daughter of Young Master Cao, and also the second daughter of Tang Xin...
She was currently here for development, having established a mining company.
She would call Tang Xin from time to time to report that she was safe.
Although,
Young Master Cao always said that with current technology, there was absolutely no danger, and not a single one of the many bases had ever had a problem.
But Tang Xin would always worry.
After all, Tang Xin had only three children in total.
The eldest and the youngest were sons.
She only had this one daughter, the second child, and treasured her dearly.
Furthermore,
Tang Xin had always kept this daughter by her side, teaching her about business from a young age. After graduation, she became an assistant in the company.
Now, she was managing things independently. Her capabilities weren't in question; it was just that Tang Xin couldn't stop worrying.
Young Master Cao found this somewhat helpless.
"Mom," Cao Delin spoke up.
Tang Xin looked at her daughter on the large screen and smiled slightly: "You've lost weight, my treasure. Are you tired?"
"Not tired. It's quite interesting here too. Besides, I'll be returning to Blue Star in just over half a month. When I get back, I want to eat your... actually, never mind, I want to eat Dad's cooking."
"Hey, you little..." Tang Xin sighed helplessly.
Tang Xin's cooking was passable; she had learned a lot from Young Master Cao.
But everyone in the family knew that Young Master Cao's cooking was top-tier.
Even though he always claimed he only knew a little.
Also,
very few people in the family ever got the chance to taste his culinary skills.
Tang Xin pretended to be angry: "So, Mom's cooking isn't good enough for you? No way. This time when you're back, I'm definitely going to cook something for you to try. I've improved recently. When I make it for you, you have to finish it all."
Cao Delin wailed dramatically: "Mom, I'm your own flesh and blood! As they say, not even a tiger eats its own cubs!"
"Hmph, the more you say that, the more determined I am to make you my signature dish."
"......"
The mother and daughter chatted for a while longer.
Cao Delin asked: "By the way, where's Dad? Didn't he stop traveling recently? After all, he's been everywhere worth seeing within the country, and he's always looked down on those tourist spots abroad, right?"
Cao Cheng's travel journey had come to an end.
It had just ended not long ago.
Counting the days, his sixtieth birthday was approaching.
Although with current technology and medicine, sixty could only be considered young middle age, tradition in the country held that reaching sixty was the so-called "sixtieth year" or "flower-aging year"!
It was customary to celebrate this birthday grandly.
And no one would say anything about it.
"Your dad..."
Tang Xin glanced around: "Huh? He was just here. I don't know which of your aunts he went to find now, hmph."
Cao Delin was speechless: "It's been so many years, and I've never seen you actually rein him in. If you ask me, men need to be managed. You're too lax, that's why Dad gets so cocky."
As a daughter, in matters like this, she naturally stood on Tang Xin's side.
Even in such a family, where she had understood certain unspoken rules from a young age.
For example, people with money, influence, or power often had some women hidden from public view in private.
Many people turned a blind eye to such things.
However,
as Tang Xin's own daughter, Cao Delin was definitely aligned with her.
Even though the other aunts in the family treated her well too.
Especially the four main aunts, whose status was not the least bit inferior, even comparable to Tang Xin's.
But when it came down to it, this whole situation was Young Master Cao's fault.
Therefore,
even as his own daughter, Cao Delin didn't have a good expression for Young Master Cao regarding this matter.
At least in Cao Delin's view, she would never allow any future husband of hers to have other women.
If that happened, divorce would be inevitable.
"Alright, alright, alright. Don't worry about the matters between me and your dad. We've gotten through so many years. Don't you understand your father by now? Although he may enjoy novelty a bit, he doesn't tire of the old. That's already very good." Tang Xin was still speaking up for Young Master Cao.
But Cao Delin snorted: "See? I told you it's because you spoil him."
"Spoil what?"
Right at that moment.
Young Master Cao's voice suddenly chimed in.
Cao Delin was startled.
Looking back at the large screen, Young Master Cao had appeared from who-knows-where, coming into view of the camera. He tilted his head: "Well, if it isn't Little Lin. Don't you know space call rates are expensive? Get to the point if you have something to say, otherwise hang up."
"......"
Cao Delin looked exasperated: "Dad, are you short of that money?"
Cao Cheng shook his head: "Not short, but we shouldn't waste it either. Go ask around, who in the whole world doesn't know your old man is a famous philanthropist, a true champion of the people, serving the nation and its citizens? We should save where we can. You think our chat is just spending a bit of money? You're wrong. This is the people's bandwidth."
"......"
Cao Delin was at a loss for words: "Fine, fine, hanging up, hanging up. I really can't stand your moralizing... Oh, I'll be home in a while, I want to eat your cooking."
"That depends on your performance. After all, I just heard someone gossiping about me behind my back. I'm not in a good mood."
Cao Delin knew her dad had sharp ears.
He was definitely looking for a chance to get back at her.
Cao Delin quickly apologized: "Oh, I was wrong, okay? I won't meddle in your and Mom's affairs anymore, alright?"
Tang Xin chimed in from the side: "You silly girl, changing your tune all the time. I don't know who you learned that from."
"From you guys," Cao Delin said. "Oh! Something just came up. I've got to go. We'll talk more when I'm home in a few days. Bye Mom and Dad, love you! Mwah!"
...
...
Young Master Cao's sixtieth birthday.
Young Master Cao did not hold a grand celebration.
He only had a closed-door birthday banquet at his own large estate.
Everyone invited was family; not a single outsider was present.
The older generation was all there.
The younger generation who could make it also came.
It seemed,
only at this moment did Cao Cheng realize how many people this family had grown to include.
Thinking back to the earlier Cao family, it was just him and Old Cao.
Back then, they were in the old cotton mill residential area in Jiangcheng, in a small, old house.
Then came a dream spanning a hundred years.
Everything became different.
Looking at the family now, not to mention the elders, just considering Tang Xin and the other ladies... there was an even number.
Even Little Hanyun was included.
Not to mention five or six of the "Twelve Golden Hairpins."
Not all of them were there.
Everyone had their own life; some people naturally didn't enjoy the life of a large clan.
And then the children.
Dozens of them.
As for the grandchildren generation, the "Hou" generation boys and girls, there were already four.
It was clearly a scene of four generations under one roof.
And...
Young Master Cao knew this was just the beginning. In a few years, there would be even more children, spreading the branches and leaves of the family tree.
This current large estate probably wouldn't even be able to accommodate so many people by then.
...
That night.
Cao Cheng, riding on the auspicious atmosphere of having the whole family, young and old, gathered together, used the emotional points he had saved up for a while on prize draws.
[Ding~]
[Congratulations to the host for witnessing a miracle. You have drawn a Divine Treasure Chest, obtaining Eternal Life...]
"Holy shit!"
ver to a world of cultivation and returned invincible. Modern medicine is child's play compared to elixirs; technological might crumbles before true cultivation. My name is Qin Ning, Earth's sole cultivator!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
