Beast Taming: I'm Really Not a Cultivation Master

Chapter 171: Chapter 153: Choice, Seeing Gao Yaxin Again 2

After reaching a verbal agreement, Li Qian politely declined Zhao Xiwei’s dinner invitation and left the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau.

Watching Li Qian’s departing figure, she returned to her uncle’s office. ”So? You didn’t get much of a bargain. A little disappointed?”

”To be honest, strictly speaking, I didn’t want to take that kind of advantage,” Zhao Yong sighed, his gaze also following the direction Li Qian had gone.

”Oh? Since when did you have a change of heart?” Zhao Xiwei glanced at her uncle in surprise.

”In your eyes, am I just the type of person who’s desperate to take advantage of people?” Zhao Yong couldn’t help but give a wry smile.

He continued, ”You know how tight the Public Security Bureau’s budget is. The Chief is high and mighty; he couldn’t care less about these things. If I don’t handle it, who else will?”

He spoke with clear resentment, and it was obvious who it was aimed at. ”I don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs when it comes to a cultivation genius like Li Qian.”

”Even if we reached an agreement with overly harsh terms, it would only damage our relationship. It wouldn’t be sustainable.”

Hearing her uncle’s words, Zhao Xiwei smiled. ”And here I thought you wouldn’t care.”

”Not care?” Zhao Yong retorted. ”I’m not an idiot. Why wouldn’t I care? Making an enemy of a cultivation genius like Li Qian... the losses would definitely outweigh the gains.”

While Zhao Xiwei and Zhao Yong were talking, Li Qian had already left the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau.

Gazing at the bustling traffic, he glanced around curiously before taking out his phone and starting to browse.

After a quick search, he found a chain hotel that wasn’t too far. At 500 Federation Coins a night, it wasn’t cheap, but it was within his budget.

He hailed a cab to the hotel and checked in a short while later. After a quick look around his room, he went back out.

He ate dinner by himself at a place near the hotel. Afterward, he returned to his room, put on his VR glasses, and resumed reading the books he had acquired from the Mu Family.

There were a great many books. ’Even at my reading speed,’ Li Qian estimated, ’it’ll be impossible to finish them all in less than two or three months.’

The night passed uneventfully. The next morning, Li Qian woke up, ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant, and after a moment’s thought, decided to make a call.

He wasn’t calling his parents, but someone he hadn’t been in touch with for a while: Gao Yaxin.

Previously, while he was researching the evolution method for the Koi Carp into the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon, Gao Yaxin had been a great help to him.

She had also been the one to intervene during the attack by the Black Divine Teachings Cultists, holding off the enemy. For that, Li Qian was quite grateful to her.

That was why, now that fate had brought him to Nandu City, he felt he should at least get in touch, and perhaps even pay her a visit.

Li Qian planned to visit after signing the Pet Beast supply contract with the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau, so he needed to give her a heads-up.

The call connected quickly, and a familiar voice sounded from the phone’s earpiece. ”Li Qian, you finally remembered to call your Sister Yaxin. I was starting to think you’d forgotten all about me.”

”I might forget anyone else, but never you, Sister Yaxin...” Li Qian joked back, lightening the mood before getting down to business.

Li Qian told her that he was currently in Nandu City, and, as expected, he immediately received an invitation from Gao Yaxin.

Li Qian accepted the invitation without hesitation. He was also curious to see what Gao Yaxin’s Cultivation Base looked like, what kinds of Pet Beasts she had, and whether there might be any promising avenues for research.

After settling on a time with Gao Yaxin, Li Qian wasted no more time, hailing a taxi and heading back to the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau.

This time, Zhao Xiwei herself greeted him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she led Li Qian into an office.

Zhao Yong and a mild-mannered young Security Officer were already there. They all exchanged greetings and took their seats.

Once they were seated, the young Security Officer immediately presented two contract documents: one for a strategic partnership agreement and one for the Pet Beast supply agreement for the first two years.

The agreement currently covered only two types of Pet Beasts: the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and the Frostfire Salamander. Based on their assessment, the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau offered prices of 55 million and 95 million, respectively.

Of course, this was only the supply price for the first two years of the partnership. After that, provided the cooperative framework remained the same, a new supply contract would be established based on the going market price for the Pet Beasts.

Li Qian quickly scanned the documents and didn’t see any glaring issues, though he was well aware that this wasn’t his area of expertise.

So, he used his phone to scan the contract and sent it to Fatty An’s father, An Hou Nian.

Li Qian didn’t understand these matters, but he knew people who did, and this was An Hou Nian’s exact specialty.

Once the contract was sent over, everyone at the Jiaoyang Cultivation Base in Lingshui City—An Hou Nian and Li Qian’s parents alike—began to review it meticulously.

Unlike their previous collaboration with the Lingshui City Public Security Bureau, this new partnership was far greater in terms of both profit and influence.

It could be said that the future of the Cultivation Base hinged on this deal, so they had no choice but to take it seriously. Even if his parents didn’t understand the technicalities, they understood this much.

So they pitched in, wanting to do their part even if they couldn’t understand most of it.

With everyone working together, they actually managed to find a few minor issues. They were only small things, however, and the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau didn’t quibble, readily making the changes Li Qian requested.

Since the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau was so accommodating, Li Qian didn’t dawdle either. As soon as the contract was amended, he signed his name.

”Li Qian, now that our partnership is official, the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and Frostfire Salamander will appear on the Jiangnan Province Public Security Bureau’s redemption list. To help our people make their choice, we’ll need you to provide the initial data for these two Pet Beasts.” Zhao Yong smiled at Li Qian as he spoke.

Li Qian smiled and shook his hand. ”Of course.” Without any hesitation, he shared the initial data for the Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and the Frostfire Salamander.

The so-called ”initial data” was the information on a Pet Beast immediately after its evolution. He had recorded this data for both Qizai and Xiaoliu right after they evolved.

”I wonder, does the base have any of these two Pet Beasts available right now?” the mild-mannered young Security Officer asked, his eyes full of anticipation now that the deal was sealed.

Without thinking twice, Li Qian replied, ”We have four Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and eight Frostfire Salamanders.”

Originally, after Li Lanying purchased a Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon and Mu Qianqian traded for a Frostfire Salamander, there were only two of the former and six of the latter left.

However, before this trip, Li Qian had evolved another batch of Koi Carp, yielding three more Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons and two more Frostfire Salamanders.

Of the three new Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons, one was Zhou Weiping’s Da Zhuang, while the other two belonged to the Cultivation Base. None of these new Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragons or Frostfire Salamanders had been traded before Li Qian left, so the inventory was still complete.

As for the Lingshui City Public Security Bureau, perhaps influenced by Zhou Weiping, its members had all chosen to buy and raise their own Koi Carp instead.

This approach had its advantages. The emotional bond formed would certainly be stronger than if they had simply bonded with a fully evolved Cyan-Scaled Flood Dragon.

Of course, that was a secondary benefit. The most crucial part was that they would also get to experience the feedback from the evolution process itself.