My Apocalypse System Arrives 10 Years Early

Chapter 468: Chapter 313: Fourth Brother and the Clothing Factory

”The Dragon Spirit of the Qinling Ancestral Vein.” Li Xiang immediately gave a brief introduction about the Elder in the Dragon Robe from the Qinling Ancestral Vein.

’I wonder how that senior is recovering? I was thinking that maybe there’s a unique resonance between Dragon Veins, or that since the old senior is also a Dragon Vein, he might know some Secret Technique to help it recover.’

Having not seen him in a long time, Li Xiang felt it was indeed time for a visit. He immediately took Luo Feifei and sped toward the Qinling Mountain Range.

Along the way, the two chatted softly.

”Dawn is breaking. Will this interfere with your work? How about I take you back first?” Li Xiang asked.

Luo Feifei was being cradled in Li Xiang’s arms, looking particularly lazy as she snuggled against him. ”It’s fine. I worked overtime on set yesterday, so I’m definitely sleeping in this morning anyway. Besides...”

”Besides what?”

”Hee hee, I’m a huge superstar, you know. I’m allowed to act like a diva.”

Li Xiang couldn’t help but laugh. It was true that Luo Feifei had the status to act like a diva, but she never had. She was always professional. At most, she could be a bit cold to people, but that was just her personality, not a deliberate attempt to pull rank.

Who would have thought that in one night—no, half a night—they had traveled all over the Eurasian Continent and visited so many places?

Cruising at a speed of Mach 8 to 9, Li Xiang reached the Qinling Mountain Range in less than an hour. By then, the sky was just beginning to lighten. A yellow-brown glow enveloped his feet as he brought Luo Feifei deep underground with him.

Following a familiar path, Li Xiang quickly found the core of the Qinling Ancestral Vein.

The elder was inside, in quiet Cultivation. Although Jiang Cai’Er wasn’t there, the spirit of the Chinese Ancestral Vein had long since reawakened. Sensing Li Xiang’s arrival, he hurriedly appeared to greet him.

”Young Friend, you honor my humble home.” The Elder in the Dragon Robe bowed to Li Xiang, then glanced at Luo Feifei in surprise.

Li Xiang returned the courtesy and introduced the two of them. Luo Feifei also cupped her fist in a simple greeting.

”Senior, how have you been?” Li Xiang inquired.

”Thanks to you, Young Friend, I have recovered twenty to thirty percent of my Cultivation.” The Elder in the Dragon Robe smiled, deeply grateful. His face was sharp and clear, a spiritual light faintly visible between his brows. His vitality was indeed much stronger than the first time they met. Back then, he hadn’t had the energy to say more than a few words.

Li Xiang congratulated him and then presented a gift: three Ore-type Spiritual Medicines he had carefully selected from his system’s warehouse before coming. How could he visit someone’s home empty-handed?

The system had rewarded him with many kinds of Spiritual Medicine, the most common being Spirit Grass and Spirit Fruit. Some were quite palatable and edible for humans. Li Xiang figured that since this old senior was just a Spirit Body whose true form was a special Earth Vein deep within the Qinling Mountain Range, he probably couldn’t consume things like Spirit Fruit. However, the system’s rewards also included Crystal Stone Minerals, which should be perfect for the elder, so he had carefully chosen three pieces.

Evidently, these three Crystal Stone Mineral-type Spiritual Medicines were brimming with Spiritual Power and were very much to the elder’s taste. The elder smiled and accepted them. ”Thank you, Young Friend. You are too kind.”

”Senior, I came today to ask you about something.”

”Oh? What is it?”

Li Xiang took out the Kunlun Dragon-Suppressing Lance from his system warehouse, explained how he had obtained it, and shared the theory he and Luo Feifei had come up with.

The elder took the great lance and caressed it. The lance trembled, letting out a sorrowful WHIMPER, but it soon fell silent again.

With tears in his eyes, the elder said with great emotion, ”It’s true. Like myself, he originates from the Kunlun Ancestral Vein. In those days, the Ancestral Vein used the ’One Qi Transforms Five Dragons’ technique. He is my fourth brother.”

Li Xiang then mentioned the Dragon Spirit of the Forbidden City and the Wenshu Fairy of Jinling City. The elder marveled at this and once again bowed deeply to Li Xiang.

”That would be my second brother and third sister. All that’s left is our fifth sister, whose whereabouts are unknown.”

In fact, Li Xiang had made an effort to find this ”fifth sister,” but his search for special Earth Veins across Europe had yielded nothing. Perhaps, like his ”fourth brother,” she had transformed into some kind of treasure, hidden away somewhere. Or maybe she had shattered into fragments. There was no way to know.

Divine objects often conceal their presence; it wasn’t surprising that Li Xiang couldn’t find her.

The elder then placed the Kunlun Dragon-Suppressing Lance into the Yanhuang Blood Jade Vein to be nurtured, explaining that it would take at least ten-odd years to recover, or as long as several centuries.

”When my fourth brother has recovered, I will personally bring him to repay this debt of gratitude.”

To thank Li Xiang, the elder untied a Blood Jade Pendant from his waist and gave it to him as a Return Gift. Although it wasn’t on par with the Bronze Divine Tree from their first meeting, it was still a Holy Tier Treasure.

This was a traditional Chinese custom: when a guest brings a gift, the host provides a Return Gift upon their departure. Furthermore, Li Xiang bringing back the Kunlun Dragon-Suppressing Lance was an immense kindness, but that was a matter for another time.

After the two took their leave, Li Xiang noticed on the way back that Luo Feifei liked the jade pendant, so he casually gave it to her.

Li Xiang had always been generous. When it came to giving gifts to friends, especially women, he never hesitated.

Since it was now daylight, traveling above ground would be inconvenient. So the two used Earth Escape to take Luo Feifei to the hotel where her film crew was staying.

Fortunately, Jiuzhaigou was in Sichuan Province, not far from Chang’an City. Li Xiang’s Earth Escape speed was also quite fast now, and before long, the two appeared in the fire escape stairwell on the hotel’s first floor.

There were no security cameras here, and at this early hour, it was unlikely anyone would come by.

Besides, before surfacing, they had both used their Spiritual Sense to confirm the area was empty. Popping up from underground would have scared someone to death otherwise.

”You had a long night. Hurry back and get some more sleep,” Li Xiang said, gently pinching Luo Feifei’s smooth, oval-shaped face.

”Hug.”

”I’ve been holding you the whole way.”

”I don’t care.” Luo Feifei threw herself into his arms again. Li Xiang sighed, helpless, and gave her another hug.

”Go on, go on. Someone will see you.”

Only then did Luo Feifei reluctantly let go of Li Xiang, glancing back every few steps as she left.

Li Xiang went home and also caught up on his sleep. He hadn’t had a proper rest in days. Although Cultivation could replace sleep, a good night’s rest was still a pleasure.

Li Xiang didn’t get out of bed until the sun was high in the sky.

Granny Li Xiang was overjoyed to see him back. The little animals were, too.

Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, and the others felt the same.

Li Xiang once again fell into his busy routine: playing with the cats and walking the dogs, guiding the small animals in their Cultivation, instructing Yao Yao and the others in their Cultivation, attending various meetings, checking on the scenic area’s operations, overseeing the live-stream sales, monitoring the construction progress of the Shelter project, resupplying the Jade Processing Factory, and visiting the free-roaming elephant herd and the tiger litter to give them Spiritual Medicine.

The Little Golden Tiger and Little Fire Tiger had already grown up. As Extraordinary Exotic Beasts, they were much more robust than other tigers their age. Normally, the mother tiger would have driven them away or left them to live on their own.

However, hadn’t they gained sentience? Their lifestyle was therefore different from that of ordinary tigers.

The mother tiger still led her cubs, roaming across Siberia. As Extraordinary Exotic Beasts with a vast territory, they never had trouble finding food. Of course, they remembered Li Xiang’s instructions and stayed away from human settlements.

Yao Yao and the others were very thoughtful. With the weather getting warmer, while preparing their own seasonal wardrobes, they also had many sets of clothes custom-made for both Li Xiang and Granny Li Xiang. Since they had a tailor come to the house for measurements, the clothes fit perfectly and looked fantastic.

As for the fabric, it was all high-end material, of course.

And the styles were all designed by Yao Yao and the girls themselves, unavailable anywhere on the market.

Li Xiang joked, ”How about Eternal Night Media starts another business and enters the fashion industry?”

However, everyone was already very busy. Li Xiang was just kidding and didn’t want to add to their workload.

But Yao Yao and the others took it to heart. They immediately began drafting a plan for a clothing factory and brought it to Li Xiang for a meeting.

Seeing how serious they were, Li Xiang approved it.

Whether it made money didn’t matter. The main goal was to open a factory in his hometown to provide more jobs for the local people and contribute a little to the local tax revenue. Moreover, when the Apocalypse arrived, the Underground City would need such a factory.

There was no harm in getting it started early.

Initially, it was just a ”trial run” with a modest investment of five or six million. When the news spread, many of the women who had stayed behind in the surrounding villages were thrilled. Many who were working in other cities heard the news and called to inquire. A good number of them already had years of experience working in clothing factories elsewhere, but who would want to leave their homes and families if they could find a job right on their doorstep?

Besides, the companies under Brother Xiang were famous for their high salaries and excellent benefits, not to mention all the bonuses they gave out at the end of the year. They had a stellar reputation throughout the region.

The sheer number of inquiries sparked Li Xiang’s enthusiasm. With a wave of his hand, he increased the initial investment to ten million.

Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, Lei Jiaming, Lei Xiaonan, and the others became busy once again.

Of course, Li Xiang didn’t let them work for free. He gave each of them some shares in the clothing factory.

Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui received the most, with 15% each. Lei Jiaming got 10%, and Lei Xiaonan got 5%. If this clothing factory did well, Li Xiang planned to establish a leather factory, as his system’s warehouse was also rich in leather resources.

But there was no rush for now.

Additionally, he also gave Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, and Lei Xiaohui 15% of the shares in Eternal Night Media each, totaling 45% among the three of them.

The three women naturally didn’t stand on ceremony with Li Xiang. After all, in their hearts, they themselves already belonged to him.

Eternal Night Media specialized in live-stream sales and was a business that laid golden eggs, generating several hundred million in annual revenue. Among Li Xiang’s enterprises, it was second only to the Jade Merchant House.

As for the Dark Saint Realm, it was mainly the Shelter project. Aside from the revenue from a few stores in the scenic area, the Shelter itself was a massive, ongoing investment. On the whole, it wasn’t profitable.

But this project was never intended for profit.

Since the project was unprofitable, Li Xiang didn’t give them any shares for the time being. Luo Feifei, on the other hand, held a 20% stake in the Dark Saint Realm. She had invested one hundred million, making her its second-largest shareholder.

Since Yao Yao and the others hadn’t invested any capital, Li Xiang couldn’t just give them shares behind the back of the second-largest shareholder.

Although the Dark Saint Realm wasn’t making money now, in the long run, it was the prototype for the Underground City, and its importance far surpassed his other businesses.

Once the Apocalypse arrived, live-stream sales and the Jade Merchant House would probably have to shut down. The Underground City, however, would thrive.

Li Xiang distributed the various delicacies he had brought back from Europe among them, giving Yao Yao extra meat and seafood. Yao Yao wasn’t afraid of gaining weight; if she did, she could just split off a Clone, a fact that made everyone else die with envy.

Due to the unique nature of her Superpower, she had even grown a bit taller. Everyone marveled at it, saying she was still having a growth spurt at her age.

Yao Yao retorted, ”I’m not that old. I’m only twenty-one, okay?”