Shen Zhian was quite satisfied with the decision she had made. Thus, as soon as she finished speaking, she turned and walked away, no longer concerning herself with the scene before her.
As long as things proceeded according to her plan, the situation would not get out of control!
But Zhou Buzhang was completely rooted to the spot.
It was as though thunderclaps were exploding in his mind one after another, leaving his whole body swaying!
There was no money left. No money at all…
The money he had relied on to survive was completely gone!
And Shen Zhian’s family had swallowed it all.
Now he was left alone to face these creditors!
All the grievances he had endured over the years surged toward him like a raging tide. Tears nearly spilled from his eyes, but he fought desperately to keep his emotions under control.
He knew that the people outside still needed him to placate them. He knew he could not become a man who broke his word!
Even if he had to die, he could not break his word!
After taking a deep breath, Zhou Buzhang strode out and flung open the main gate.
This was a great surprise to the small merchants and peddlers outside. The entire crowd fell abruptly silent for a moment, but the instant passed, and an uproar erupted.
“Zhou Buzhang, you finally came out?”
“General Zhou, back then, we invested because of your reputation. Your wife, Shen Zhian, also made it perfectly clear that this was meant to help ease your financial burdens. No matter how the martial arts school turned out, you would at least return our principal. And now? Are you planning to welch on the debt?”
“That’s right! Zhou Buzhang, hand over our money!”
“Pay us back! Tell Shen Zhian to come out and return our money!”
“Pay us back! Damn you, pay us back!”
…
Zhou Buzhang raised both hands, pressing them down in a gesture for silence. Once everyone had quieted, he said, “Everyone, there truly is no money left in the household. We really can’t pay you today.”
“But…”
“Shen Zhian used your money to establish the martial arts school. Shen Zhian is my wife, so that means I, Zhou Buzhang, used your money.”
“I, Zhou Buzhang, will certainly repay you!”
“I, Zhou Buzhang, have lived in this area for many years. Surely all of you know what kind of man I am. Have I ever failed to honor a promise I made?”
“It’s just that…”
“Could you give me some time? One month—at most one month. By then, I, Zhou Buzhang, will return every penny you are owed, principal and interest alike!”
“Everyone, can you trust me just this once?”
Zhou Buzhang had completely humbled himself. After saying this, he bowed deeply to everyone, his posture so submissive that he seemed to be bowing into the dirt. His manner was utterly respectful.
This stunned the crowd somewhat.
The small merchants and peddlers who had come to demand repayment had originally invested because of Zhou Buzhang’s reputation. Naturally, they knew how mighty and glorious this former naval commander had once been.
To put it bluntly, if Zhou Buzhang had defeated Zhou Mengyan in their competition, then the supreme commander of the entire Yangtze defense fleet would be Zhou Buzhang.
If that had happened, how would they have dared cause a disturbance at Zhou Buzhang’s gate?
For a moment, heaven and earth fell silent.
Someone sighed, then turned and walked away without leaving so much as a trace behind. Clearly, he believed Zhou Buzhang’s words.
Once someone took the lead, others followed.
The rest immediately agreed and began to leave as well.
The crowd dispersed quickly.
The entire process lasted the time it took to burn half an incense stick. Throughout it, Zhou Buzhang remained slightly bent at the waist, never once raising his head.
He had once suffered an injury to his lower back. Remaining bent over for so long caused the old injury to flare faintly, and the pain gradually spread. Yet Zhou Buzhang knew that this was his fault. His posture remained respectful from beginning to end, without the slightest wavering.
Only after everyone had left did Zhou Buzhang finally raise his head. Looking at the empty space outside the Zhou residence, he felt just as empty inside. For the moment, he had no idea where he could obtain the silver!
He had already borrowed everything he could.
He was no longer the man he had once been and could not easily earn money. The road ahead was fraught with danger!
“Forget it, forget it…”
“If necessary, I’ll sell the properties I purchased in the past. Those houses are worth a great deal. They should be enough to clear the debts!”
Thinking this, Zhou Buzhang knew he could not delay. He intended to go back and tell Shen Zhian before selling the properties, but the moment he entered the residence, Shen Zhian—who had just left—hurried back in.
She stared at him, her face full of shock.
“Zhou Buzhang, what have you done?”
“What did you promise those people?”
Zhou Buzhang looked steadily at Shen Zhian. His eyes were filled with disappointment, even despair. Then he said, “I didn’t promise them anything. I only asked them to give me one month. I told them I would return all their money by then!”
“Are you insane?” Shen Zhian shrieked. “What if you don’t have the money a month from now? Aren’t you just creating an even bigger problem?”
Zhou Buzhang said, “Shen Zhian, didn’t you say that you had an investment and would soon see returns of no less than a hundredfold? Then how…”
“Can’t you even return their money?”
Shen Zhian said anxiously, “Even if I can repay them, I have an even bigger plan. How can I spend the limited money on something like this?”
“Zhou Buzhang, Zhou Buzhang, why are you so useless?”
“So what if those people curse you a few times?”
“So what if you delay them for a while?”
“Why can’t you just endure it? For my sake, for our child, for this family—can’t you stand tall and shoulder some of the risks and pressure?”
“Does everything have to depend on me?”
“Fine, fine. Let everything depend on me, then. I married a man like you, so I accept that. But you… can you please stop ruining my plans?”
“Do you know how exhausted I am from handling all these matters every day? On top of that, I have to clean up your messes and wipe your backside. Do you even see me as a person?”
Shen Zhian’s words were nothing more than an outburst. She knew that after Zhou Buzhang had made such a promise, the matter had already reached the point of no return.
She had only lowered her guard and turned away for a moment, yet Zhou Buzhang had gone and caused such a tremendous disaster!
She was truly at her wit’s end with him!
She strode away once more, considering what to do next now that her plans had been disrupted.
Zhou Buzhang, however, stood blankly where he was.
He did not know whether he felt sorrow or joy.
During his twenty years in the military, he had used his achievements to establish a formidable reputation and amass an enormous fortune. Later, after losing to Zhou Mengyan in their competition and becoming disgusted with Zhou Mengyan’s conduct, he had retired on account of his injuries, intending to live out the rest of his life in peace.
With the prestige he had once earned and the wealth he had accumulated, he was not good at managing accounts, but he could still make a rough calculation.
At the very least, it should have been enough to keep him clothed and fed for the rest of his life, shouldn’t it?
But…
After all these years of turmoil, his money had grown less and less. Now, he had reached the point where the household possessed not a single coin!
What… exactly had he been doing all this time?
Zhou Buzhang’s heart was filled with desolation.
Yet while he felt only desolate, Shen Zhian was furious—and Shen Zhian’s mother was even more enraged!
The old woman had never been particularly nimble on her feet, but now she came striding over with surprising force. When she reached Zhou Buzhang, her pair of cloudy eyes blazed with an intensely fierce light.
“Buzhang, before you do anything, did you ever think about our Zhian?”
Zhou Buzhang hurriedly said, “Mother-in-law, listen to me…”
“I don’t want to listen to you. I’ll only believe what I can see with my own eyes.” Shen Zhian’s mother said coldly, “All I see is my daughter working herself to the bone to manage this household while you sit at home doing nothing, living like some pampered lord. But now…”
“My daughter went to all that trouble to set everything up. All she asked was that you shoulder the tiniest bit of the burden, yet you refused this and that, and even personally ruined what she had worked so hard to arrange.”
“Are you blind?”
“Can’t you see how hard she’s worked and how busy she’s been all these years?”
“If you had even the slightest bit of concern for her, you wouldn’t have done something so outrageous.”
“Zhou Buzhang, you’ve gone too far!”
Shen Zhian’s mother fired off her tirade at Zhou Buzhang like a rapid barrage of cannon fire, giving him no chance to speak. Only after cursing him thoroughly did she throw him one last withering look, turn around, and go find her daughter, Shen Zhian.
The first thing she said upon seeing Shen Zhian was, “Daughter, I’m more and more convinced that your mother really did have the foresight back then.”
“When you married Zhou Buzhang, I told you that a woman must rely on herself and never depend on anyone else. I encouraged you to make your own way, invest in businesses, and build something great!”
“If I hadn’t advised you back then and persuaded Zhou Buzhang as well, you never would have achieved what you have today. Otherwise, you’d have to spend every day watching Zhou Buzhang’s mood.”
“He’s nothing more than a man who’s stepped down from office, yet look at how full of himself he’s become. He practically thinks he can touch the heavens!”
Shen Zhian found herself in complete agreement. She nodded and said, “Yes, Mother. Fortunately, you made that decision back then. Otherwise, who knows what kind of situation I’d be in now?”
“It’s all thanks to your advice. Now I have a way forward and a way back.”
Shen Zhian’s mother immediately said, “Then work even harder and get those businesses up and running as soon as possible. Once you do, leave that good-for-nothing man at once!”
“You’ve suffered enough over the years. From now on, find yourself a man who makes you happy. Don’t hang yourself from the same crooked tree that is Zhou Buzhang.”
Shen Zhian nodded.
Then she shook her head.
The gesture puzzled her mother. “What is it?”
“Not yet,” Shen Zhian said. “I can’t keep everything under control anymore. More and more people are demanding money, so I still need Zhou Buzhang to stand in front and take the heat.”
Shen Zhian’s mother nodded. “Then wait until this matter is over. Didn’t you say you invested in someone named Gu Qingyue?”
“Once her women’s army is formed, you can go and become its leader. By then, you can cast Zhou Buzhang far, far away.”
“Just looking at him makes me furious!”
“He’s a useless man who refuses to stand up for anything and does nothing but make your life miserable!”
Shen Zhian’s mother was so furious that she looked ready to tear Zhou Buzhang to pieces. Then she continued discussing with Shen Zhian where all that money would go.
The subject soon turned to the one million taels in banknotes, and before long, they were talking about Zhang Shi. This made Shen Zhian’s mother somewhat curious, and she asked, “Zhian, is investing in this Zhang Shi really worthwhile?”
“Could he turn out to be just like Zhou Buzhang—someone who can’t amount to anything?”
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
or! A blessing for those who struggle with love, a guidebook for dating novices. Quickly match with your dream goddess! Complete walkthroughs earn rewards, and perfect walkthroughs unlock limited achievements!】 Shen Yi, an ordinary office worker, accidentally downloads a mini-game called Dating Simulator. The mini-game is simple: randomly search for dating targets, simulate dates, and receive rewards upon successful confession. Rewards include but are not limited to money, attributes, and skills. The higher the evaluation, the better the rewards, with perfect ratings unlocking mysterious achievements. Shen Yi plans to use this mysterious mini-game to continuously pursue targets and improve himself, making his life better and better. ...... However, after several successful walkthroughs, Shen Yi suddenly notices something strange - the targets he previously simulated dating seem to be searching for him in real life?
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
