Chapter 68: Contact (2)
Gu Xuanchao viewed Su Chen quite favorably, but that was merely his first impression.
However, this first impression had gradually grown into familiarity.
Gu Xuanchao discovered that, no matter where he went, he couldn’t escape from Su Chen’s influence.
Where he ate breakfast, where he listened to operas, where he ate lunch and dinner, where he bathed and the brothels he frequented – any establishment Gu Xuanchao liked to go, Su Chen owned.
At this point in time, not getting to know this Prince Su seemed impossible.
No one knew when Su Chen would appear in which store of his.
As a result, the two of them gradually got to know each other more as time went on.
One day, Gu Xuanchao finished his dinner and then went to the Jade Feathered Palace as per usual.
The Jade Feathered Palace was one of Swallow River City’s most famous floating houseboats. Gu Xuanchao liked to enjoy himself on these boats where his shrewish wife had a hard time finding him. With ten or so of these houseboats gathered together, it would take some effort to track him down.
As soon as he stepped foot onto the Jade Feathered Palace, a provocatively dressed woman named Sister Cha, the owner of the houseboat. greeted him courteously. This was the nice part of Su Chen’s business tactics; no matter what he purchased, he wouldn’t replace the original workers there, keeping it so that everyone was still just as familiar with one another as before.
When Sister Cha saw Gu Xuanchao walk over, she hurried over to him and said warmly, “Oh, if it isn’t Fourth Elder Gu! It’s good to see you.”
“Mm,” grunted Gu Xuanchao in acknowledgment. “Where’s Little Xian? Call her over to see me.”
Sister Cha’s expression turned a bit ugly. “This…… Little Xian already has a customer.”
“What did you say?” Gu Xuanchao’s expression immediately turned into one of anger. “Didn’t I send someone over earlier to tell you that I was coming over and not to let Little Xian be with anyone else?”
Sister Cha replied hurriedly, “Yes, that was the plan in the first place. However, Third Elder also came.”
“Third Elder?” Gu Xuanchao was taken aback. “What Third Elder? Old Third Gu Xuanyu?”
Sister Cha nodded.
Gu Xuanchao charged into the room, his expression steely.
Upon entering the room, he saw Gu Xuanyu flirting with a young maiden sitting in his bosom who had on quite a bit of makeup. Who else could it be other than the Little Xian that he had set his heart on?
When he saw this, Gu Xuanchao’s expression sank. “Old Three, are you really that bored? I asked for Little Xian first, but you came along and s.n.a.t.c.hed her from me?”
Gu Xuanyu laughed. “Old Fourth, I abide by the rules. How could I s.n.a.t.c.h something from another person? Especially from you. Come, come, have a seat first.”
Gu Xuanchao harrumphed and sat down.
He and Gu Xuanyu didn’t have any conflicts. However, Gu Xuanyu was extremely casual and didn’t carry himself with any airs. As such, he could become friends with anyone. Gu Xuanchao felt like his att.i.tude besmirched his status of belonging to a Bloodline n.o.bility Clan, so he was always a bit dissatisfied with Gu Xuanyu, but that was the extent of it.
Gu Xuanchao said, “Regardless, there must be a proper order to things. I asked for Little Xian first. You said you didn’t s.n.a.t.c.h her from me, so what’s going on here? I don’t believe that Sister Cha would have stepped on my face like this if it weren’t for you.”
Gu Xuanyu said, “Old Fourth, this really is a misunderstanding. I didn’t take her from you, really — I obtained her through the rules set by Jade Feathered Palace.”
As he spoke, he pulled out a jade tablet and placed it in front of Gu Xuanchao. “See?”
“What is that?” Gu Xuanchao was stunned.
He had been in the Jade Feathered Palace a number of years, but this was his first time seeing this kind of jade tablet.
“This is the Jade Feathered Palace’s VIP tablet,” Gu Xuanyu replied. “Anyone who has this tablet has an advantage over common guests. Even though you made a reservation, Old Fourth, you’re not a VIP. If a VIP were to come along, then they would get first choice. So it’s not that Sister Cha isn’t giving you face, and it’s not like I was trying to take her from you. Before you came, I didn’t even know that you wanted Little Xian. I just said that I wanted her, so they took care of things for me.”
“So there’s something like that?” Gu Xuanchao opened his eyes wide. “Why have I never heard of this VIP tablet before?”
Gu Xuanyu replied, “That’s not strange. This was a rule set by the new owner.”
“Su Chen?”
“That’s right!”
Gu Xuanchao’s expression sank.
He originally thought that his relations.h.i.+p was Su Chen was pretty good, but it seemed like it was still a bit short of the mark.
However, he knew that he normally treated people a bit too arrogantly, while Gu Xuanyu was much friendlier than him. It wasn’t that strange that Gu Xuanyu had become friends with Su Chen faster than him, but he still felt a bit unhappy in his heart.
Gu Xuanyu could tell that Gu Xuanchao wasn’t in the best mood. He laughed and said, “Don’t be in such a hurry. He’s going to come by later today. I can ask for one for you, and you can have Little Xian for yourself.”
“Hmph. I don’t care for it,” Gu Xuanchao replied.
It was hard to say whether he didn’t care for the VIP tablet or Little Xian.
As they spoke, Su Chen appeared.
Gu Xuanyu’s eyes lit up. “Brother Su, come have a seat.”
Su Chen walked over and laughed, “Third Elder Gu, Fourth Elder Gu, it’s good to see you all. How are you enjoying yourselves?”
Gu Xuanyu laughed. “That’s a great question. Old Fourth here isn’t happy today.”
“Oh? How do you mean?”
Gu Xuanyu said, “You only gave that VIP tablet to me, not to Old Fourth. Would you happen to have a solution for this?”
Su Chen laughed when he heard this. “So that’s what this is all about. Fourth Elder Gu, this is just a misunderstanding. How could I favor him and discriminate against you? It’s just that there are certain conditions needed for this VIP tablet, so I haven’t been able to give it to Fourth Elder yet.”
“Oh? What conditions? Tell me about them. How much money do I need to pay?” Gu Xuanchao asked.
“That’s not exactly it. This VIP tablet can only be given to business partners who are interested in cooperating.”
“Oh?” Gu Xuanchao was taken aback. He glanced at Gu Xuanyu. “What kind of cooperation are you guys involved in?”
“I just invested in Brother Su’s business, is all.” Gu Xuanyu replied casually.
“Invested?” Gu Xuanchao was stunned. “Do you mean in these businesses?”
Su Chen said hurriedly, “Of course not. I bought these businesses mostly on a whim, and I was never planning on profiting from them. How could I ask Third Elder to invest in businesses that will never be profitable?”
“So what’s the business, then? Let’s hear it. If I’m interested, I might decide to invest as well,” Gu Xuanchao said.
Su Chen replied, “I want to make a Flight Network.”
“Flight Network?” Gu Xuanchao was stunned.
A Flight Network was a type of aerial transportation.
Humans usually used extremely large Cloud-Piercing Shuttles for aerial transportation, and these kinds of ma.s.sive shuttles were powered by Origin Stones. They were incredibly expensive and traveled very slowly. People called them the most expensive flying toys that money could buy. Because of the high cost involved in a single flight of the Cloud-Piercing Shuttle and the high risk, starting up a Flight Network wasn’t something that could easily be set up. Having money to play around with wasn’t enough.
How could Gu Xuanchao not be surprised that Su Chen was planning on doing something like this? Most importantly, Gu Xuanyu had invested as well.
Gu Xuanchao knew what kind of temperament Gu Xuanyu had. Even though he acted casually, he never did things without lots of consideration.
If he was willing to make an investment, could it be that Su Chen really had a way of bringing a Flight Network to fruition?