“I used to think that working in the army was a great job, but now that I see you hardly ever home throughout the year, I regret it. I regret not advising you more when you graduated.”
Xu Jianguo nodded in deep agreement. His son had finally changed and become outstanding. Xu Jianguo's only plan was to let his son follow him, first pass the exam to enter the system, and then, with the combined efforts of his son and himself, make a name for himself.
“When I go to Beijing to report on my work in the second half of the year, I will talk to Old Zhao and ask him to take me to see Old Tang. This time, I must bring you, this special forces soldier, back home no matter what.” Xu Jianguo said thoughtfully to Xu Chen about his plans.
"Dad, no need," Xu Chen quickly explained when he saw Wang Rong's brows furrow again. "Dad, actually, I joined the army when I was in college and participated in the last evacuation of Chinese citizens from North Africa."
"Chen'er, you can't just make things up like that." Xu Jianguo was speechless. What was wrong with his son? How could he make up something like this so easily?
Seeing that the couple didn't believe him, Xu Chen took out his phone and called Tang Tiancheng.
"Mr. Tang, what have you been busy with lately?"
"Xu... Xu Chen???" Tang Tiancheng wondered if it was a problem with his ears. He looked at the nickname "rascal" in the caller ID. Sure enough, this kid had disappeared for several years without a trace. If Tang Tiancheng didn't know what kind of cultivator he was, he would have sent people to look for him everywhere long ago.
"It's me, Mr. Tang."
"You little rascal, what have you been doing these past few years? You haven't even thought to give your old man a call."
"It's a long story. What have you been busy with lately, Mr. Tang?" Xu Chen smiled knowingly as he looked at his father and mother's surprised and incredulous expressions.
"I'm arguing with old man Zhao right now, and the Minister of Finance is here too. What's wrong? You're in Beijing? Then come over here, I need your mouth."
"Mr. Tang, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor."
"Speak."
After finishing their conversation, Xu Chen hung up the phone and started a video call on WeChat. When Wang Rong and Xu Jianguo saw Tang Tiancheng's face, all their doubts vanished instantly.
"I was appointed as the commander-in-chief for that evacuation operation. Dad, someone will send you the records of the specific process after you go to Beijing. In short, I actually have a lot of freedom now because my appointment as a colonel was recently approved."
"A colonel?" Xu Jianguo grasped the key point and asked excitedly, "Chen'er, you said you've been appointed as a colonel?"
"Yes, the rank of senior colonel, but it's all thanks to Elder Tang. The process was actually quite complicated and can't be explained in just a few words."
Xu Jianguo and Wang Rong exchanged a glance, then continued to ask, "Chen'er, do you mean that your father doesn't actually need to pull any strings?" Although it might be useless for Xu Jianguo to go, that was what the couple had thought before.
"Yes, on the contrary, I need this identity, this official hat."
Xu Jianguo laughed heartily, "As expected of my son, hahaha, like father, like son! Chen'er, let's have a drink!" Xu Chen nodded, and then proceeded to tell Xu Jianguo, somewhat concealing, how he met Tang Tiancheng and how Tang Tiancheng introduced him to the army. When Xu Jianguo heard that his son's roommate was Zhao Yi's grandson, the slightly intoxicated Xu Jianguo became incredibly sober, and a logical chain of events smoothly formed in his mind.
First, Xu Chen befriended Zhao Weimin, then, through Zhao Weimin's introduction, he befriended Zhao Yi. After gaining Zhao Yi's favor, he met Tang Tiancheng, thus reaching his current position. Thinking about it carefully, his son's luck is truly incredible. After receiving the full explanation, Xu Jianguo was even happier. Now, Chen'er has power, status, and connections; it's almost as if he doesn't need to help him at all.
Xu Chen also told the couple about his upcoming marriage to Wang Li, and they immediately began discussing an auspicious date and the relatives they wanted to invite, completely ignoring Xu Chen.
A year later, Xu Chen and Wang Li officially moved to their new home in Beijing after their marriage. Wang Li began preparing for the entrance exam for a tenured teacher position at a Beijing school while working at Liren Pharmaceuticals. Xu Chen, on the other hand, became a stay-at-home dad, driving Wang Li around. Perhaps his mindset had calmed down, or perhaps the ordinary life with Wang Li had stirred up some mysterious feelings in Xu Chen's heart. In the daily routine of cooking and cleaning, Xu Chen actually gained some insights.
The moment Wang Li passed the exam to become a teacher at Beijing No. 4 High School, she felt she had fulfilled her dream. The couple found a nice place to celebrate and received blessings from friends and relatives. After Xu Chen's true identity was revealed, some people who had secretly gossiped about him and called him a gigolo wisely shut up and instead began to fawn over Wang Li. Those who had once been very fond of Wang Li during their university days, after learning Xu Chen's true identity, began to look for other targets.
Five years later, Wang Li became pregnant, and the two wept with joy because they were finally expecting a baby. Xu Chen had once told Wang Li that as cultivators, conceiving was countless times more difficult for them than for ordinary people, which had once made Wang Li uneasy. To fulfill her wish of becoming a mother, Wang Li did her best to cooperate with Xu Chen's actions. Whether it was spiritual medicine or sexual relations, she would try her best to meet Xu Chen's requests as much as possible, as long as it could help her conceive.
The Haitian Gang successfully went ashore and transformed into the Haitian Group. With investment from Liren Pharmaceutical, it completed its transformation and became a well-known conglomerate in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, encompassing entertainment, catering, hotels, and other industries, with assets worth billions. Under Xu Chen's guidance and assistance, Wang Tianfeng and Xu Yuedong both broke through to the Transformation Realm and became martial arts grandmasters.
Twenty years have passed in the blink of an eye. Of the friends and brothers from his past, except for those practicing martial arts, almost all are now middle-aged men and women. At a reunion of his college roommates, Xu Chen looked at his three brothers and sighed at how terrifying the passage of time was. The four brothers talked about their current situations. To Xu Chen's surprise, Li Wei, who had gone on to pursue a career in academia after graduating from university, was doing very well back in their hometown, already a standing committee member in a neighboring prefecture-level city. Li Wei wasn't intentionally hiding this from Xu Chen; he simply felt that as brothers, they shouldn't talk about material things like money and power. Talking about youth and their college days was the most appropriate thing for them to do when they talked on the phone or met.
Over the past twenty years, Xu Chen witnessed the passing of the elders of both the Xu and Wang families. The death of Chen Yunhai also deeply affected him. Logically speaking, someone in their fifties should be in their prime, but after receiving investment, Chen Yunhai became ambitious and vowed to open bars all over the province. Overwhelmed by heavy workload and family troubles, he was unable to bear it and died without ever telling Xu Chen about his difficulties.
At Chen Yunhai's funeral, Xu Chen met his wife and son. He was deeply impressed by the boy. During his phone call with Chen Yunhai, he learned about the boy's heroic deeds. The boy seemed to have inherited his father's early nature, being extremely unruly. If it weren't for Chen Yunhai repeatedly cleaning up his messes, he would probably have been in jail long ago. But at his father's funeral, he seemed like a different person, holding his mother's hand and comforting her, while also greeting the guests. It seemed that his father Chen Yunhai's death had changed him. On the day of Chen Yunhai's funeral, Chen Wenbiao pulled Xu Chen, his uncle, into drinking all the family's wine, constantly expressing regret for his actions over the years.
With Xu Chen's introduction, Xu Nan married the son of an outstanding engineer at Liren Pharmaceuticals. With Xu Chen's help, the couple started their own business, establishing a design company and successfully settling down in Beijing. Xu Jianguo and his wife also came to Beijing, partly to take care of their granddaughter and grandson, and partly because, thanks to Xu Chen's care, they were in good health and had the energy.
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