Chapter 962 — The Liu Family's Gifted Daughter

Besides, Wei Zhao had said that if he did not hand over the money, he would go to Donghai and tear down his businesses himself, and that left Zhen Dazhou feeling utterly and unbearably humiliated! Only now did Zhen Dazhou understand what a true villain was. Compared with Wei Zhao, he himself amounted to nothing at all!

"Five hundred million... I can't produce that..." Zhen Dazhou said, forcing down his rage.

"Oh, then give me whatever you have for now," Wei Zhao said. "If the rest falls short, write me an IOU."

"Fine!" Zhen Dazhou gritted his teeth. "I have only two hundred fifty million right now."

He knew that if he endured this for the time being, then once Ma Zhu's master arrived, every last coin Wei Zhao had extorted would be coughed back up! Wei Zhao had robbed him in broad daylight, and when the time came he would rob in broad daylight too. With Ma Zhu's master standing there, he would demand money from Wei Zhao and Gu Pengzhan both. And if they refused, he would simply beat their entire families to death!

At this moment Zhen Dazhou had completely forgotten the lessons of the Xiao family, the Yu family, and Zhao Qibing. Every man who had threatened Wei Zhao with the slaughter of his family had been slaughtered by Wei Zhao himself! Yet even had he recalled it, Zhen Dazhou would not have found anything amiss, for in his eyes Ma Zhu's master, Jin Wudi, was far more formidable than Wei Zhao. The man was an Earth-rank expert and a grandmaster of the Golden Bell Shield; unless a comet or a meteorite fell on him, even a steamroller would have a hard time doing him any harm.

And Wei Zhao, however formidable, could not punch above his rank to defeat a Jin Wudi who outclassed him by so many levels. Besides, Mystic-rank and Earth-rank were as far apart as heaven and earth. At this thought, Zhen Dazhou drew a deep breath and buried his hatred in his heart, biding his time until Jin Wudi arrived so he could settle accounts with Wei Zhao.

"Two hundred fifty million?" Wei Zhao frowned. "I gave you two hundred fifty million in the first place. How is it that you have only two hundred fifty million?"

"I did have money before, but I spent it treating Zhen Yingjun's illness..." At this, Zhen Dazhou's eyes brimmed with hatred. You still have the nerve to ask me where the money went. If it weren't for you, would I have spent that much money curing Zhen Yingjun?

"That will do. Two hundred fifty million it is. Transfer it to this account..." Wei Zhao gave him an account number.

Zhen Dazhou played no tricks. He transferred the two hundred fifty million back to Wei Zhao on the spot, then wrote him an IOU as well.

The Liu family of Yanjing.

Although nothing that had happened in Songshan City these past days had anything to do with Liu Tianyi, he followed the situation there more closely than anyone else did.

Wei Zhao was injured, his strength wholly gone! That was one piece of news Liu Tianyi had received.

The moment word came that Wei Zhao had lost all his strength, the Liu family exploded.

Liu Zhenhu's youngest son, Liu Tianli, came home with a black scowl and sought out Liu Tianyi, none too pleased. "Brother, I don't mean to lecture you, but how can money be lent out so carelessly? Our Liu family's money doesn't blow in on the wind. I earned it cent by cent, coin by coin! You are the heir to the family head, and when you wanted a loan, I lent it without a word of protest. But shouldn't you at least have investigated whether the man could repay it? Now I hear that the Xiao family, the Yu family, and even Bing Shao, the illegitimate son of a hidden family, have all gone to make trouble for this Wei Zhao. Whether he will even keep his life is anyone's guess. And he is supposed to repay the money?"

"Tianli, one must look further ahead in all things. Even stripped of his martial arts, Wei Zhao still has his medical skill, and sooner or later he will stand at the pinnacle of this world once more!" Liu Tianyi was in no great hurry to worry about the situation in Songshan City.

"If he has no life left, what use is medical skill?" Liu Tianli retorted, unconvinced.

"Dad, I think Uncle is right. If this Wei Zhao is truly as miraculous and formidable as Uncle says, then at a moment like this, offering coal in the snow will without a doubt earn our Liu family a future ally!" A young girl at Liu Zhenhu's side cut in. "Our Liu family built itself on commerce and politics, but we have no cultivators, and that is a shackle on our growth. We have a marriage alliance with the Wu family, yes, but we ourselves are still too weak. We must seek new allies! Sometimes one simply has to take a gamble. This hundred million can be seen as a wager: if we win, our Liu family stands to gain benefits beyond imagining; if we lose, we may as well count it as a hundred million earned for nothing. And if it sits badly with you, Dad, just deduct it from my dividends..."

This young girl was Liu Tianli's daughter, Liu Jinghan, the Liu family's gifted daughter. She had gone into business at her father's side at fifteen. To the outside world, Liu Tianli was the one in charge of the Liu family's enterprises, but the great families who knew the inside story understood perfectly well that this beautiful fifteen-year-old girl was the true helmsman of the Liu family's business.

She entered business at fifteen, doubled the Liu family's holdings outright by sixteen, doubled them again at seventeen, and just after her eighteenth birthday, Liu Zhenhu granted her permission to sit in on the Liu family's clan council.

Liu Zhenhu was unmistakably grooming Liu Jinghan as the third generation of the Liu family. His only regret was that she was a girl. Should she inherit the position of family head, then unless her children bore the surname Liu, she would be forever barred from the next succession, and an heir would have to be chosen from among the other descendants of the clan.

"Tianli, Jingjing speaks the truth. One must take the long view in all things!" Liu Zhenhu spoke up now as well. "If Wei Zhao weathers this storm, then our Liu family will have forged a fine relationship with him, and in days to come our Liu family will reap enormous benefits. Your business instincts are keen enough, but your grasp of the larger picture falls far short of Jingjing's. You still have much to learn!"

"Yes, Father!" Hearing his father speak, Liu Tianli naturally had no further word of protest to offer. Besides, he admired his own daughter greatly.

"At the annual Great Family Assembly, our Liu family is always at a disadvantage. We have no miracle elixirs and no rare treasures, so at the trade fair almost no one will deal with us; and in the martial tournament we have no one to enter. Old Master Chen stepped down years ago, and the Chen family's lot is little better than the Xiao family's. Fortunately, Chen Yutian is a Yellow-rank expert and will likely break through further in the future, so for the moment the Chen family has no great troubles!" Liu Zhenhu said. "But Tianyi is no longer young. If he steps down and holds no post in the political world, our Liu family will face a gap between generations. With only these businesses to our name, it is impossible to maintain our standing as a great family! While I live, some old connections still grant me the courtesy of their favor. The moment I am gone, I fear the Liu family will be finished!"

For the fastest updates, read without pop-ups.